Pelfrey had Tommy John surgery last May, is not expected to be ready for big-league action until early in the season, and was non-tendered by the Mets this winter in anticipation of being paid around $5.5 million in arbitration.

Matthew Cerrone, Lead Writer

First off, good for Mike. He’s a good guy who works hard, we’ve rooted for him for years and, while he could never seem to totally get over the hump here, I’m glad he’s healthy and able to continue his career with an organization like the Twins. I wish him well…

The word is that he’s recovering well and could be ready for Opening Day, depending on how his spring training goes. The Mets were right to non-tender him, for a variety of reasons. Basically, there is a lot of history between these two, and it was time to move on. I figured they might look to bring him back on a lesser deal, but I’m not sure they pushed for any sort of reunion. Interestingly, his deal with the Twins, when you factor in incentives, is pretty much exactly what he would likely have been in arbitration. So, it speaks to the level of demand for starting pitching, and why the Jays may be so willing to overpay to get R.A. Dickey.